By Kevin Carroll – Staff Writer
In a flip of the script from the last time these two teams met, the Hofstra women’s basketball team was able to catch fire down the stretch, and pull out a 52-46 victory in a nail-biting game on Sunday.
Anjie White, making her second consecutive start for the Pride in place of the injured Ashunae Durant, posted career high numbers with 17 points and 12 rebounds.
“I’m a little excited, but I’m just happy that we won,” White said after the game. “I’m just doing what I can for my team to win.”
Kelly Loftus and Krystal Luciano also put up double-digit scoring totals for the Pride, with 13 and 11 points, respectively.
Sunday’s game, televised locally on SNY, was a special one. The Pride abandoned their typical white and blue color scheme, and donned pink jerseys in support of the late, former NC State coach Kay Yow, who passed away in 2009 after a battle with breast cancer.
“Life’s going to throw you punches, and we can’t curl up,” Coach Kilburn-Steveskey spoke on Yow’s impact. “That’s what Kay taught us.”
It was apparent from the start of Sunday’s contest that this game was going to be neck-and-neck, as the two teams traded baskets and leads for much of the first half. The game broke out of the gates at a frenetic pace, with a lot of clean possessions on both sides, and without the unnecessary early fouls that tend to slow games down.
Both teams started out shooting the ball well, but as both defenses amped up their intensity, and started forcing turnovers as well as bad looks at the basket, it turned into a struggle to score for both the Pride and William & Mary.
White, typically a role player, and more accustomed to coming off the bench, wasted no time making her presence felt in the starting lineup for the Pride. The redshirt sophomore had ten of the Pride’s first twelve points, and finished the half with twelve points and six boards. Despite relatively quiet halves from Kelly Loftus and Elo Edeferioka, two key components in the Hofstra offense, the Pride still managed to roll into halftime with a 24-22 lead over the Tribe.
Coming back onto the floor to start the second half, the Pride looked to gain a little separation from the Tribe. A three-pointer from Luciano did the trick, but W&M came right back, rattling off six unanswered points to take a one-point lead on the Pride.
As the game came down into crunch time, the Pride found themselves in a bit of a pickle. Edeferioka went to the bench with four fouls, and Dee Thomas-Palmer came onto the floor with the Pride down by a point. She promptly sank a jumper to put the Pride ahead, and sent the Mack into a frenzy. The Pride caught fire down the stretch, using another White jumper, and a beautiful steal and layup through contact from Luciano to put the nail in the Tribe’s coffin. A couple more free throws sealed the deal for Hofstra, who came away with a pulse-pounding 52-46 victory.
“It was an extremely hard-fought game against a really good William & Mary team tonight, who’s been on the rise,” Kilburn-Steveskey said after the game. “Just proud of these guys for really digging in and not giving in down the stretch.”
Hofstra improves to 14-9 on the season after Sunday’s win, with a 7-5 mark in the CAA. William and Mary sinks to 11-12, dropping to 5-7 in conference play.
The Hofstra women’s basketball team heads out on the road for their next contest, heading down south for a Friday the 13th showdown with the College of Charleston. That game will get started at 11:30 at the TD Arena in Charleston.
